Layout

1 year ago

A trench was generally around two meters deep and two meters wide, the trenchlines were never built in straight lines. Typically, trenches zig-zagged, as this prevented infiltrating enemy troops from simply firing down the length of the trench lines, and it helped prevent any gas attacks from spreading far down the line.

Armies typically built three lines of trenches. The first trench, and the namesake for this site, was the front line. This was the trench closest to No Man’s Land (the territory controlled by neither side of a battle), and the most dangerous. The front line was connected to communication trenches to move supplies, equipment, and men forward, without exposure. The second line, typically around 75 meters back, was the support trench, a sort of back-up for the front line. If the enemy has successfully occupied the first trench, the support trench would be occupied instead. Another 300 meters back, the third trench was the reserve trench. Here, the reserve troops could amass for a counter-attack, if the first two trenches were occupied.